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Credit Report Monitoring

Most experts recommend that you get a copy of your credit report at least once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to ensure the report's accuracy and to look for signs of ID theft (such as a credit card account opened or requested by a con artist using your name). You can order a copy of your credit report directly from each major credit bureau for a maximum charge of $9 per report (free in some states or situations). But consumers also can subscribe to a monitoring service offered by credit bureaus or other companies for about $30 to $150 a year, depending on what's included.

A monitoring service may provide, for example, an automatic copy of your credit report from one credit bureau or all three major companies, perhaps on a quarterly or monthly basis. You also may be able to get e-mail notices of any changes in a credit report, even within 24 hours. "The most important alert is one telling you that an account has been opened in your name," says Robert Patrick, an FDIC attorney. "If you do not recognize it as your account, you can take immediate action to get the account closed. Otherwise, you may not hear about accounts opened by an identity thief for months."

Should you order credit reports on your own or pay more for a special service? The answer depends on how closely you want to monitor your credit reports and how much you are willing to pay for convenience or other extras. Some consumer advocates and other observers say that most people would be adequately protected if they order their own credit reports from the three major credit bureaus at least once a year and save money over the cost of a professional monitoring service. The nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego offers this strategy: stagger your requests throughout the year—"for example, Experian in the beginning of January, TransUnion in April, Equifax in August."

If you want to stay on top of your credit history but don't have the time or desire to submit periodic requests on your own (even once a year), you may want to consider paying a monitoring service, preferably one covering all three major credit bureaus.